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@godlyfantasy12 I probably pants more than anybody else on here does, so plotting advice from me is nil. 😆 However, I empathize with your problem. I’ve had so many issues with arrangement–of scenes, character introductions, and events–in writing my last few novels, so I’ll try my best to relay to you what has helped me.
Oftentimes, it takes a few tries to get things right. You’ve mentioned that you want to make the first draft the best (and therefore not have to write many drafts afterward), which is a noble aspiration. I do so myself. That being said, sometimes you have to write several chapters (maybe two or three, sometimes seven to ten) to get a handle on what should happen when. I did that whilst writing Prisoner at Heart (my second novel) and my current WIP. I wrote the first part, then went back and wrote it again, switching things up but keeping most of the basics the same. I just copied and pasted a lot of the original scenes. Like @devastate-lasting said, you just feel your way through. Sometimes you have to force yourself to keep going, but you’ll eventually see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it’ll be worth it!
Other times, you can just list the specific events that are set to take place in your novel (usually three, sometimes more), then work around. I employ this outlining technique because it allows me and my characters a lot of freedom. Before diving straight into your inciting incident, I suggest getting to know the character and setting up some dramatic points that you can flesh out later in your novel. Give her some friends/family that she clashes with, get the ball rolling for a big event later with some clues, and just let the drama flare up! Let the first two or three chapters be the introduction–here, the reader gets to know the character and care for them (which will carry them throughout the rest of the book) and allows gets to see what her world is like day-to-day. Now, I don’t mean boring stuff. The inciting incident in my second novel didn’t occur until roughly Chapter 7, so I took the first few chapters to reintroduce my characters and prepare for some dramatic events that take place later on. Even little things can be magnified into big events. Make sense?
I hope this helps! I’ve been the same position before multiple times, so I know that sometimes you have to take a step back and get an idea of what everything will look like heading into your novel (and rewriting the first few chapters to get it right) and sometimes you have to examine all the little details to build up a firm foundation for the climax and other events later on in the novel. Most advice you’ll hear is to begin your novel with the main event–which works in action and adventure, mysteries, and some fantasies–but my advice is to lay a firm foundation. If you don’t know your character from the beginning, you’ll lose your footing later on and your plot will unravel, and if the reader doesn’t come to love the MC right off the bat, they’ll loose interesting in the middle. One other thing I suggest is drawing out the inciting incident. Start slow, come in with a bang, then trickle out with a few loose ends. Capisce?
Thank you!
I’d recommend thinking about what problems would bring your Protagonist to jump into the action. I also would recommend that we have a chance to see her have a normal day doing normal things so we get to know her, see why she doubts, understand her wound and how she sees the world around her. you only need enough scenes to convey her personality, the personalities of the people in her life, and the world around her.
But as you go through these scenes, I recommend adding foreshadowing and hiccups of the extraordinary for when she will be forced out of her normal life into her new situation. Maybe a run-in with a henchman or something along those lines, if she has a younger sibling, maybe he is a hothead and stands up to a bad guy and she has to defend him? Maybe Ganesh is in the disguise of an abused beggar well-known in the town and she has to help him and he says something that could make her on the radar of the henchman? Does she have a power that makes her dangerous to the enemy? A secret? Is the fact that she was bitten by the serpent do anything in the eyes of the people around her? Does she live in a village of superstitious people? Can you think of any way her doubts could influence a bad decision? Does her bite hurt even if she doubts about a bad thing and so she decides to let the pain of the bite hound her into a bad choice? When was she bitten?
For event after minor one:
People could try to kill her before Ganesh saves her? Maybe her enemy(ies?) come looking for her, and they ask her parents (or whatever guardian she has) where she is, and her parents say nothing. the family is kidnapped and enslaved and her home is destroyed so she is all alone. Then maybe she has to survive on her own for awhile, and Ganesh has to rescue her when she is attacked?
Out of curiosity, is Ganesh supposed to be a perfect being? He could be frustrated (his perfection depends on his patient level) by your Protagonist and they might have some interesting back-and-forth.
I know this is a lot, but I hope it helps!
We crazy people are the normal ones.
@gracie-j Thanks! And ya hopefully it’ll get easier as I go along.
@scouttinch80
So Ganesh isn’t really a huge part of the story, he mainly is like a messenger, and dispatches my MC to begin her journey. The part with the people around her looking at her differently because of her snake bite are really interesting tho!! Mind if I take that suggestion perhaps?? (Don’t wanna steal lol!!)
She does have a best friend named November who has POV chapters too. He feels the need to protect her but feels he isn’t brave (because he blames himself for her getting bit) so I’ll be playing with that later on.
What I really wanna show in my MC is how her setting kinda contrasts with her feelings.
She lives in a very bright, happy, garden or town, in a castle. She’s surrounded by a loving family and friends, but she’s very anxious inside. While she is happy, she also feels an underlying depression, but because of her wonderful surroundings she feels she shouldn’t.
I really wanna put myself in this character, because I’ve struggle with anxiety, depression (and still do a bit) but tbh it’s hard to write about someone similar to me sometimes. Not because I don’t want to put myself out there, but because it’s just harder…idk if that makes sense lol!!
#IfMarcelDiesIRiot
#ProtectMarcel
#ProtectSebFeel free to use my suggestions! Honestly, I often get a little worried that I am sharing too much information.
I totally get what you are saying about anxiety/depression. Is your character based off of yourself or is she almost exactly like yourself?
Does anything happen to motivate your Protagonist to obey Ganesh?
We crazy people are the normal ones.
@scoutfinch80
Well, Ara serves The All (God) and so she’s willing to go thru with her destiny for him and for her family and world’s sake since she’s supposed to defeat an evil.
So not entirely like me, but she has a lot of my struggles. Same hair color and eyes, and kinda lifestyle like me (wonderful family, etc) so she’s not Me per say, but definitely want to use some of my struggles.
but I also know she’s her own person, so I’m telling her story not mine.
#IfMarcelDiesIRiot
#ProtectMarcel
#ProtectSeb@gracie-j @kathleenram @devastate-lasting @scoutfinch80 @william-starkey (dunno if that last one is right 😂)
Anyone on? I’m in the car, my grandma and I are gonna get Starbucks and I plan on writing some while we’re in the car!
Finished chapter 2 the day before test day (unedited one) and working on chapter 3 now. I’m pretty proud with my work, which is great because sometimes i can’t really say that, but recently it’s been going pretty well (when I actually write XD)
I thank the Lord for that! And I also think first person just works for me.
So ya imma be writing if anyone’s on! Anyone else gonna be writing?
#IfMarcelDiesIRiot
#ProtectMarcel
#ProtectSeb@godlyfantasy12 That sounds great! I just finished four pages in my WIP, and now I am going to be finishing homework.
Lately, it's been on my brain
Would you mind letting me know
If hours don't turn into daysNice! I finished chapter 3. I’m probs gonna play the wii when I get home lol
#IfMarcelDiesIRiot
#ProtectMarcel
#ProtectSeb@godlyfantasy12 Oh…to have free time…and a wii….
Lately, it's been on my brain
Would you mind letting me know
If hours don't turn into daysI usually have loads of free time 😂
#IfMarcelDiesIRiot
#ProtectMarcel
#ProtectSeb@godlyfantasy12 The term of “free time” is right now on another plane of existence from me…it’s be so long…so many years…
Lately, it's been on my brain
Would you mind letting me know
If hours don't turn into days@godlyfantasy12 If you’re not in high school yet run while you can, kid…. Jk, jk. But enjoy your lasting time while you can.
Lately, it's been on my brain
Would you mind letting me know
If hours don't turn into daysActually I’ve graduated.
#IfMarcelDiesIRiot
#ProtectMarcel
#ProtectSeb@godlyfantasy12 Then disregard everything that I’ve just said.
Oh, to have graduated…literally counting down the days…Lately, it's been on my brain
Would you mind letting me know
If hours don't turn into days
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